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Coastal Carolina students go global during Maymester

by Foster

Nearly 190 Coastal Carolina University students experienced global educational opportunities through 12 Maymester study abroad trips. They swam with sharks in Bimini, cooked paella in Spain, adventured at Glen Castle in Scotland and much more. Students had the opportunity to earn class credit through each of the 12 different trips led by CCU faculty members.

During the trips, students attend classes or conducted research throughout the week. They had additional time built in to their schedules to spend exploring the local community and to sightsee.

Geoff Parsons, the Director of International Programs & Services said, “Study abroad programs give the participant an opportunity to challenge their preconceptions and to expand their worldview.”

Some of the programs offered during Maymester were:

• Business Studies in Europe
This program offered 20 students the chance to learn about business culture, organizational structures and managerial practices from a global perspective. CCU faculty members David Doerring and Karen Sauls led students through Paris, France; Bonn and Munich in Germany; and Prague in the Czech Republic. They attended workshops, worked in teams with European students and visited companies such as Google in Paris, DHL in Bonn, SolarWorld in Bonn, Mercedes-Benz in Munich and a car factory near Prague to learn how the basic principles of management are applied in different countries.

• Language and Culture in Spain
In collaboration with the Spanish language institute Don Quijote in Madrid and Salamanca, this program provided 16 CCU students the option to take either SPAN 115 or SPAN 330 as well as intensive Spanish language courses taught by Don Quijote teachers. CCU faculty members Alejandro Munoz-Garces and Jose Luis Mireles from CCU led this trip. Excursions and activities were planned throughout the three weeks to area museums and to points of interest in Madrid as well as in Granada, El Escorial, Segovia, Salamanca and Cordoba. Students were in the classroom during the morning Monday through Friday learning language and culture.

• Coastal in Tuscany
During their stay in Arezzo, 13 students became familiar with Italian history and culture, while also learning to master cultural practices of daily life in Italy, including travel, dining out, shopping, etc. CCU faculty members Philip Powell from the music department, Susan Bergeron from the department of anthropology/geography, and Kenneth Martin from the department of theater led the students on the trip. Coastal’s program was based at the Accademia dell’Arte’s Villa Godiola in Arezzo, an American artistic and educational center that provides housing, classrooms and meals.

• Security in Cypress/Greece
CCU faculty members Christopher Gunn, Joseph Fitsanakis, Aneilya Barnes and 27 students explored security issues in the eastern Mediterranean through direct immersion in the history and contemporary geopolitics of one of the world’s most significant regions. They spent nearly a month in Greece and Cyprus, two of the European Union’s safest nations, which feature a developed tourist industry that dates back to the 17th century. From there, they examined the complex security framework of the wider region that includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Egypt, Libya and the Balkans. In addition, students attended lectures by internationally renowned security experts, policy-makers and diplomats.

• Biology of Sharks (Bahamas)
A group of 17 students led by professor Dan Abel and CCU boat operations manager Sam Gary recently returned from the Bahamas as part of CCU’s Biology of Sharks course. At the Bimini Biological Field Station (BBFS), students received instruction on how to capture, identify, work-up and tag sharks. Additionally, students learned about telemetry tracking all while enjoying countless opportunities to observe shark behavior in both their natural habitat and in captivity.

• Scottish Marine Institute
Professors Louis Keiner, Teresa Burns and the 14 students who participated in this program spent three weeks studying at the Scottish Marine Institute (SMI) in Oban, U.K. SMI is a world-class research and teaching center, with areas of emphasis in arctic seas, dynamic oceans (climate research) and marine renewable energy. Students in the program took a four-credit laboratory course, MSCI 487 Field Methods in Oceanographic Data Analysis, during which they learned how to work with oceanographic data, acquire data (online or shipboard sampling), process data using appropriate software, and present data to a scientific audience. Each student chose a type of data to process, interpret and display in an oral presentation at the end of the course.

• South Carolina to South Africa
This program led by faculty members Jamia Richmond and Dianne Mark was an experiential immersion for nine CCU students into the history and diversity of the multilingual nation South Africa through the lens of education. Students collectively engaged in experiential learning of the languages, cultures and partner service organizations in South Africa in a well-structured and facilitated service learning experience in the area of their academic focus. Prior to departure, they learned about the American special and general education system, and they met and interviewed students, service providers and families in the system. Students engaged in comparing and contrasting the types of services across these two contexts as well as the lived experiences of families and students.

Bessie Wilson is a senior communication major currently studying abroad on the Maymester trip in Spain. “CCU offers so many incredible abroad experiences that more students should consider taking advantage of,” she said. “Going abroad gets you out of your comfort zone and shows you how people around the world live.”

Maymester study abroad trips generally last between one to three weeks and are application-based. CCU’s study abroad program continues to grow each year. New trips are offered each Maymester with the opportunity to receive a variety of course credits.

All faculty members are encouraged to participate in the study abroad program. Those who are interested in leading a study abroad can submit a proposal online or contact Geoffrey Parson at parsons@coastal.edu in the Global Initiatives Office of International Programs and Services. Follow the study abroad Instagram page @Chantsabroad to see highlights from some of the current trips.

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